FEEDING PROGRAM FOR LAYER EGG PRODUCTION

In recent time, poultry egg production has become a giant and attractive industry. Farmers now consider poultry egg production as one of the most profitable area in livestock production.
With it's high return in investment, people without enough knowledge of the enterprise has stormed the business believing that the venture would make them millionaires over a short period of time. People of such category always end up being frustrated due to their expectations that were cut short by problems and challenges beyond their sphere of knowledge. Amount of feed for different age of the layer birds is one of such challenges.
While the problem of feeding amount is peculiar to farmers new in the business with little knowledge of the fundamentals of layer egg production, old farmers also fail in efficient feeding program.
The importance of good feeding program is centered on the fact that giving birds too little or too much feed would affect productivity of the birds and consequently, the economics of the enterprise which often frustrates the farmer and cause the business to crumble.

Too little feed would produce weak birds with poor growth, development and consequent poor laying ability.
Too much feed on the other hand would result to early physiological development of the birds and the birds would be said to have matured early. Early maturity of birds would result in small egg size when the birds start laying.
Too much feed would also result in majority of the birds getting too fat and having difficulty in laying due to the bulk of fatty tissues lining their vent.

Good feeding program would always make a happy farmer because  the result of the feeding program would manifest on the birds who are always fit, productive, and healthy. The income of the farmer is also improved because the cost for excess feeding is avoided.

Farmers and producers should therefore adopt good feeding program for their birds if they wish to to make it in the business of egg production.
As a recommendation, farmers should feed;

• 15g of feed per day  for the first week.
• Additional 5g for every additional week 
• Stop adding feed when one bird start consuming 120g of feed per day.

This is to say, feed each bird 15g of feed per day for the 1st one week.
Feed 20g per day when they are two weeks old.
Fees 25g per day when they are 3weeks old.
Feed 30g per day at 4weeks old.
Continue this process until they start eating 120g per day at about 20-22weeks old when they must have started laying.
Continue feeding 120-125g per day until they are sold off as spent hen at about 72weeks old.

A farmer that adopts this process is bound to be successful in the business.
This feeding program checks many errors with the amount of feed for layer birds.

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